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By Ian Williams

If you go down to the South Korean port city of Yeosu this May, you are in for a big surprise, not least of which is being greeted by Yeony and Suny, the human size blue and orange cartoon plankton that are official mascots for the 2012 World Expo, which runs from May 12 to August 12. And you will be one out of 10 million visitors to get the treatment.

Until recently, South Korea had little political presence globally, but it is now delivering an impressive overture on the world stage. In addition to providing a United Nations secretary general (Ban ki-moon), a president of the International Criminal Court (Sang-Hyun Song) and now the head the World Bank (Jim Yong Kim), part of its effort to make global splash is the Expo in Yeosu, in Korea’s deep south.

The big theme of the first Expo, the 1851 Great Exhibition in London, was the steam engine and it was at the 1885 Antwerp Exposition that the automobile was introduced to an all too ready world. A major theme of Yeosu is how to cope with the damage to the seas and coastlines threatened by the collective addiction to burning carbon based fuels unleashed at those events.

However, unlike the rustbelt tourist showcases of Britain and America that look back to history, the Yeosu Expo looks firmly to the future, showcasing technologies and methods that will keep the oceans and the planet thriving. It claims that it should “Raise the status of marine science, the new frontier for science”. But the foundation on which they are building, the theme “The Living Ocean and Coast” is in keeping with the traditions and history of the region.

It took 250 years after the industrial revolution for Britain’s industrial areas to be museified. Former factory workers and miners or their children earned a living by acting out the roles that they used to have. In Yeosu, it has only taken a generation!

The city’s port area, a former brownfield site of cement silos and petrochemical plants has been revived as the site of the expo, with some impressive architecture and even more impressive technology. The old cement silos have been recycled as the 55-meter high “Sky Towers” with one being used to demonstrate desalination techniques and the two incorporated into the world’s loudest pipe organ (certified by the Guinness Book of Records), whose strains will inspire the millions of visitors expected to throng at the site.

The Theme Pavilion looks better than one would guess from hearing that it is modelled on a lugworm - but then how much more maritime can you get? Most of the world, looking at South Korea from afar, see only the broad brushstrokes of the peninsula, but off Yeosu city, whose name apparently means “beautiful water”, is an archipelago of 365 strikingly beautiful islands, one for each day of the year.

The islands are functional as well as aesthetic: they shelter the harbor from storms and waves. The waters in the region have been cleaned up, reviving the traditional seafood industry whose products fill the local markets with their salty variety and also allowing use of tourist beaches on the many inlets and islands of the coast.

Yeosu, an opposition stronghold, had run down under the earlier conservative governments, but the impending exposition has focused spending and investment on the region and one of its explicit purposes is to be “A driving force to develop the south coast,” creating 80,000 new jobs. The anticipated growth will come from high-tech marine industries and what is sometimes claimed to be the world’s biggest and fastest growing business - tourism.

While the expo site itself has taken 1.5 trillion won (US$1.31 billion) in investment, the associated infrastructure spending has absorbed over 10 trillion won. The better roads and the high-speed train that ushers passengers from Seoul to the expo site in Yeosu in less than three hours are permanent contributions to regional development.

And they will come, by all accounts, from across the world. By trains, boats and planes. Part of the site is a liner terminal for passenger ships to dock for the expo, and, the town hopes, to be a regular stop for cruises at the port which offers a location that is not only scenic, but pivotal on the routes from Japan and Shanghai.

The plan is that, as well as being a big attraction in its own right, that the exposure and development of the region will initiate a future as a tourist resort. Clearly the eyes of local business are on the Chinese market, with half a million of the 10 million visitors expected from China.

The other attractions of the region are also preparing for the influx of visitors during the expo and in what they hope is the continuing tourist trade afterwards. The Korea Tea Museum and the surrounding Boseang green tea gardens, Suncheon Bay Ecological Park, Odong do island and the Hyangiram Hermitage are all boosting their attractions. However, foreign visitors should be warned, Korean tourists seem to like and expect a lot of healthy hiking up steep hills. For two hours around new hotels are being built and old ones refurbished. Even temples and churches are being pressed into service

While some of the structures for the exhibition will be temporary, the more spectacular edifices will remain, like the Big O, “The largest over the sea fountain,” which does with water what pyrotechnics does with fireworks. Fireworks themselves will be absent to minimize pollution - their place being taken by water jets and state of the art laser displays.

In addition to the spectacular water displays, the curtain of water can act as a screen for movies and holograms. In the flood of superlatives, the aquarium’s 6,000-ton tank will stand out for some time, and for those who like to stay dry while watching whales swim overhead, the Expo Digital Gallery boasts a 218-by-30 meter LED screen across its roof.

The quaintly named MLV (More Valuable Life) Hotel, a spectacular looking piece of architecture in its own right, has just opened its 1,800 rooms to cope with the demand - which of course it hopes will continue after the official expo closes.

Over a hundred countries such as China, Japan, Russia, Spain, France and the United States have booked displays in the 73 pavilions at the expo - Britain being a notable exception - Prime Minister David Cameron pleaded the pressure of a rival attraction, the Summer Olympic Games in London this year.

South Korea has built seven “theme” pavilions, which will showcase climate and environment, marine industry and technology, marine civilization and city, including a putative underwater city, and marine life. In line with the greening of the blue theme, organizers claim that the Korea pavilion itself is built from “carbon neutral eco-friendly materials” while the site is festooned with windmills and solar panels and backed up with thermal power from the ocean.

The United Nations is hosting themed events from some two dozen agencies in the international hall. Yeosu is not in isolation. It is part of the road to - and from - Rio, the major environmental conference in Brazil in June and at the closure, attended by Ban Ki-moon, most participant countries will sign the Yeosu Declaration, a comprehensive pledge to maintain and improve the conditions of the world’s oceans and coasts.

Between sea level rise, which would swamp the site, and the Great Pacific Garbage Patch gyrating over the horizon past the now-pristine waters of South Korea’s south coast Yeosu clearly has a civic stake in persuading the rest of the world to look after the 70% of the world already under water - only 1% of which, points out Sam Koo, the UN director for the expo, is legally protected.

Between Rio and Yeosu there might be hope yet of averting the threatened sea level rise - but in the meantime, the floods of investment should help float the economy of Korea’s south coast.

Ian Williams is author of Deserter: Bush’s War on Military Families, Veterans and His Past, Nation Books, New York.

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KOREA TIMES

Pizzeria D’Buzza
By Kwaak Je-yup

There was a time when getting a decent pizza — Italian or American — in Seoul was impossible. Not anymore.

Here are the top 10 pizzerias this side of Naples, whose menus were tested and tasted over the last few months.

Pizzeria D’Buzza

D’Buzza is the brainchild of Lee Il-joo, 28, and partners, who came out of nowhere to make the capital’s hottest pizzeria. On any given day, patrons should expect a lengthy wait in front of the door thanks to its just-as-lengthy list of offerings.

A medical student based in Canada, Lee was taking a brief stop in Italy to go on to Albania for a social services mission when he stumbled upon the boot-shaped nation’s famous culinary culture. He dropped everything and decided to pursue cooking.

“I want pizza culture to be shared by as many people as possible,” says Lee.

Buzza is the Italianized Korean term for rich or a rich man.

“I wanted to pick something simple and catchy, like the name of a real estate agency. But it also reflects the quality of our flavor and our ingredients: they are rich.”

743-33 Hannam-dong, Yongsan-gu
(02) 794-9474

Open everyday from 11:30 a.m.-11 p.m.
On weekdays, there is an afternoon break
3 p.m.-5:30 p.m.

Spacca Napoli

There are few pizziaiolos, or pizza chefs, in Seoul that insist on using wood to fuel their ovens (like D’Buzza, for example), but possibly the most meticulous one out of them all is Lee Young-woo, 35. Watching him make your pizza is one of the joys of eating at Spacca Napoli.

“Anybody can turn the dial on gas ovens and get the temperature constant and right,” says Lee. “But with the traditional oven, you have to keep adding more wood and can only have one pizza at a time in the oven.”

While every pizza will come from his hands, the caveat is that with less than 10 tables, there is no reservation or guarantee that you would get those coveted spots; so line up early.

2F, 413-2 Hapjeong-dong, Mapo-gu
(02) 326-2323

Open Monday-Sunday 11:30 a.m.-11 p.m. except 2nd and 4th Mondays of every month.

The Pizza Peel

The Canadian owner and chef David Lauckner, 35, came to Korea four years ago and realized there were no affordable and decent pies around. He tried everywhere, and he had to take the matter into his hands.

Fast forward to last year, he opened a small joint inside an Itaewon market, having learned the trade from the masters of Sorrento, Italy for a few months.

“My pizzas are not strictly Italian,” says Lauckner. “I wanted to mix it up with recipes Americans or Canadians like.” He says he wants to create, at honest prices, some great tasting pizzas, simple and unpretentious. The formula is working: within a few months after opening, the place has been packed, and customers are the ones demanding expansion.

34-65 Itaewon-dong, Yongsan-gu

(02) 795-3283

Closed Monday. Open Tuesday 5 p.m.-10 p.m., Wednesday-Friday noon-10 p.m. (afternoon break 2:30 p.m.-4:30 p.m.), Weekends noon-10 p.m.

Pizza Island

Here is a quintessentially Korean experience: pizza with soju. Since 1991, the hole-in-the-wall Pizza Island has been in business in this unlikely out-of-the-way corner of the city, serving pies that defy imagination.

Its pizzas have double, often triple layers of fresh cheese from the best Korean producers, and that makes them perfect accompaniments to soju, according to the regular clientele and foreign tourists who come here from the Grand Hilton next door.

The chef Kim Yeon-suk, went to Nagoya, Japan and worked at a pizzeria for two years to learn the sauce, which, she says, makes all the difference.

202-24 Hongeun-dong, Seodaemun-gu

(02) 3216-4761

Open Monday-Sunday 4 p.m.-2 a.m.

Pizzarium di Roma

The rectangular shape is not the only distinguishing factor of Pizzarium di Roma, a tiny pizza parlor at a hike from the main Itaewon strip. Made by a young team of chefs, the pizzas are fresh and tasty. Ranch pizza, the popular favorite, is worth several bites.

While the bread-like crust may not please everyone, the distinct character and charm of Pizzarium will win you over. Thanks to its popularity with the pizza lovers, a second branch opened two years ago around Garosu-gil.

“I like the one in Itaewon better than (the branch in) Garosu-gil,” says former New Yorker and foodie Kim Jung-yun. “It is not a sitdown joint, more of a stand-up-and-eat-it-fast-type of place that reminds me of NYC.”

529 Itaewon-dong, Yongsan-gu

(02) 312-7580

Open Tuesday-Sunday 11 a.m.-10 p.m.

554 Sinsa-dong, Gangnam-gu

(02) 515-7580

Open Monday-Saturday 11 a.m.-10 p.m.

La Tavola

Management says its pizzeria was the country’s first to bring brick-oven pizzas to the capital. Opened in 1999 and still wildly popular in Itaewon, La Tavola remains a strong contender to the best pizza throne. The proof is in the pudding: the quality and taste have stayed consistent over all these years. With a decent wine list and ample space, the place is perfect for a night with foodie friends.

123-33 Itaewon-dong, Yongsan-gu

(02) 793-6144

Open Monday-Sunday noon-midnight

Oz’s Kitchen

The city’s rare vegetarian restaurant is well-renowned for its aubergine pizza. It became so famous that there is now an offspring branch in the Bukchon Hanok Village specializing just in pizzas. Don’t fret, meat lovers. Oz’s Kitchen will prove that vegetarian pizzas can taste yummy, too.

12-5 Samcheong-dong, Jongno-gu

(02) 517-0113

Open Monday-Sunday noon-10 p.m.

Grano

Any Italian food lover in Seoul should know the name Santino Sortino, the chef behind the two famed Itaewon restaurants named after him.

He sold them, took a break in Italy and came back with Grano, which has already established itself as the spot for foodie expats, CEOs and celebrities.

Sortino says he wanted to open a place that serves “simple but good” food, and his Roman-style pizzas are the proof of that philosophy. His mouth-watering recipes, with a creative choice of toppings, will make you ponder over the menu before ordering.

645-1 Sinsa-dong, Gangnam-gu

(02) 540-1330

Open Monday-Tuesday noon-midnight, Wednesday-Saturday noon-2 a.m., Sunday noon-10:30 p.m. closed on national holidays

Daejangjangi (Blacksmith) Hwadeok Pizza

With only a handful of tables, reservations are a must at this always-packed pizzeria in the Bukchon Hanok Village. The reclusive owner is a real blacksmith, hence the name, and supposedly began making pizzas out of personal interest.

The quirky interior design actually has not much to do with the pizzas, which stick to the bare-bones basics.

The most popular on the tiny menu is the gorgonzola pizza, taken with honey. The public has it right.

62-1 Gahoe-dong, Jongno-gu

(02) 765-4298

Wednesday-Monday 10 a.m.-10 p.m.

The Kitchen: Salvatore Cuomo

Hyped up to be the best pizzeria in the city with a celebrity pizzaiolo name, The Kitchen certainly reigns as the most expensive pizzeria on this list. On this reporter’s particular visit, the doughs were soggy and the service sub-par.

The only saving grace was the excellent cheese on every pizza, but contrary to the popular myth, buffalo mozzarella flown in from Italy is no longer on the menu.

646-2 Sinsa-dong, Gangnam-gu

(02) 3447-0071

Monday-Sunday 11:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m., 5:30 p.m.-10:30 p.m., closed on national holidays

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